I've been a life long fan of John Lennon. I have grown to like his music and his political views over the years. He doesn't have the same exact views as I but as he said:
I’m an artist first and a politician second. -John Lennon
He considered himself a socialist and opposed the Vietnam War. While he wasn't a revolutionary, he was one of the few voices who could be heard, able to counter the culture of President Richard Nixon who expanded the Vietnam War into Kampuchea and he relentlessly attacked youth groups of the day, including many "new left" groups. Lennon was a voice for opposing the Vietnam War.
So I was gad to see this article in Yahoo News-Otto
John Lennon would have been 75 years old this week, on Oct. 9. In the 35 years since his 1980 murder, the world has seen Reaganomics, Monica Lewinsky, Duran Duran, Nirvana, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise and fall of Biebermania, the nation’s first black president, Seinfeld, Live Aid, Jon Stewart, Sarah Palin, and Taylor Swift.
Lennon died before the internet, Facebook, iPhones, and 9/11. He was gunned down while The Jeffersons was a top 10 TV show and three days before Popeye hit movie theaters.
The world is very different 35 years later, but two things have remained constant: the staying power of Lennon’s music and his politics. And while the Beatles will always be the headline, it’s John Lennon’s political bravery that deserves continued praise. Lennon not only provided the roadmap for every songwriter of the 20th (and 21st) century. He rewrote the book for political activism. Some of Lennon’s political activity may now seem as naive as “Love Me Do,” but his willingness to leverage his fame for matters of world peace and equality is still largely unmatched to this day. U2′s Bono, who has done his own fair share to further artist activism, says Lennon “wrote the blueprint.” He’s right.
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